Failure of multiple coronary angiographies to identify left main coronary artery disease in a patient diagnosed by transesophageal echocardiography.

This case report describes the role of transesophageal echocardiography to diagnose proximal left main coronary artery disease.     

Review of solid‐pseudopapillary tumour of the pancreas with case illustration

Solid‐pseudopapillary tumour of the pancreas (SPT) is a rare neoplasm known to affect predominantly young women. The presenting symptoms can be vague and non‐specific. The case is described of SPT in a 46‐year‐old Chinese man who presented with postprandial bloatedness and a left upper quadrant mass. A review of the literature on the clinical characteristics, pathology and management of SPT is presented.     

Correlation between clinical stages and EEG findings of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.

In this retrospective study 67 patients with SSPE seen between the years 1980 and 1998 were reviewed. Using the criteria of SSPE diagnosis (clinical signs, characteristic EEG patterns, high titres of measles antibodies in the serum and CSF), the patients were divided into two groups. Group A fulfilled all criteria, however, due to the inability of measuring measles antibody before 1987, it was not possible to observe the third criterion in Group B. Among 67 patients, groups A and B consisted of 51 boys and 16 girls ranging in age between 1 to 23 years, mean age 13.1. The male/female ratio was 3.1. The periodic EEG complexes (PCs) were usually bilateral, synchronous and symmetrical. PC amplitude asymmetry was seen in 12 patients and 2 patients had no PC synchronization between the hemispheres. Six patients had more than one form of PC. Delta activity in anterior hemispheres after PC was seen in 40 patients, mostly in stage 2A. Thirty-two patients had focal epileptiform abnormalities in multiple locations at every stage but most frequently in frontal, central and temporal regions. One patient had PC over both hemispheres and periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges (PLEDs) over the right hemisphere. The EEG findings described and observed in our study do not seem to be specific to SSPE but these findings were not atypical or unusual.     

Cellulose acetate phthalate, a common pharmaceutical excipient, inactivates HIV-1 and blocks the coreceptor binding site on the virus envelope glycoprotein gp120

Background  

Cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP), a pharmaceutical excipient used for enteric film coating of capsules and tablets, was shown to inhibit infection by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and several herpesviruses. CAP formulations inactivated HIV-1, herpesvirus types 1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2) and the major nonviral sexually transmitted disease (STD) pathogens and were effective in animal models for vaginal infection by HSV-2 and simian immunodeficiency virus.     

Polydactyly and fetal hydantoin syndrome: an additional component of the syndrome?

We report a 3-year-old girl with fetal hydantoin syndrome (FHS) whose mother had received phenytoin 600 mg/day throughout gestation. She had growth retardation, mental deficiency, craniofacial dysmorphism and iris colomobata specific to FHS. However, the patient did not have the distal phalangeal hypoplasia which is associated with FHS; instead, she had Polydactyly of the right foot. This seems to be the first FHS case in the literature with Polydactyly.